I enjoy anything related to the British royals so this was a good read. I did feel that it was outdated. A lot has happened that was not covered. But from my understanding this is a republication of a book from the 80s which explains why it is out of date to today. Taking that into account I give it 3/5. The style of writing is engaging and if it were up to date it would definitely be 4-5 stars.

This followed the Royal Family from the death of Queen Victoria to the birth of the current Prince William. It was well written and well researched, and it was interesting to see Aronson’s point that the royal family has become a “family firm” by the time of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.

I wish it had been more up to date, because it would have been interesting to see Aronson’s take on the Queen Elizabeth / Lady Diana feud, which meant that the royal family took a hit in public opinion. This would have been especially interesting because Aronson focused on public approval of the royals, and it was especially interesting to look at the lesser known royalty, such as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Kent and Windsor.

This was well worth a read if you’re interested in the Royal Family.

For those interested in British royal history, this book will be an enjoyable read that situates the generations from Edward VII on in relation to one another very effectively. Especially, the book reveals how each successive monarch related to his/her predecessors both in the context of family and in the context of approaches to the role of the monarchy. The book is also good at tying changes in the House of Windsor's relationship to the British people to changes in history and in the zeitgeist of the nation. The author’s viewpoint on the House tends at times to be overly rosy, focusing on the praiseworthy aspects of its members and glossing over some of the darker aspects of its history to present a generally positive view of the Windsors.

I have always been interested in the Royal Family and this did not disappoint. Very interesting.

Learning the history of the Royals can be a daunting task and many writers make it all the more so with their dry styles. Not so with Theo Aronson.. His style is witty and engaging making the lesson enjoyable. He has wisely chosen a period of time beginning in the not so distant past with the death of Queen Victoria then working forward to Queen Elizabeth II's reign, a total of 80 years. Originally published in 1983, it stops shortly after Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William.

This was an interesting read and I highly recommend it to my fellow Anglophiles.

Thanks to the publisher, via Netgalley, for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This book, a republication of a book from the early 1980's suffers because it is dated. The author's thesis, that the British royal family is upstanding and bound to duty and good behavior, suffered greatly in the events of the early 21st Century.

Although with the next generation of Royals (i.e. the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) and the happier life of Charles with Camilla have done much to recover this sense, whenever the author talks about Charles and Diana's happy marriage or talks serenely of Prince Andrew being proper I keep thinking of the revelations about Diana and Charles or of the photos of a topless Fergie sunbathing on a Texas millionaire's yacht.

While the book is very well written and has lots of interesting information about the Royal Family and monarchs up through the late 1960's, it was not as strong on the last 50 years. All too often when reading about these events I felt as if the author was only working from current published sources instead of documents with a more historical perspective as he used in the rest of the book.

In spite of these flaws, it's a good book.

I am currently about half way through this title and I had to make myself put it down and go to sleep last night!!!! It is not the same biography about the royal family members that I have read again and again. Give it a read!!!!

This is not a recent book as it was previously published but it has good snippets of information on the reigns since Queen Victoria.

Theo ARonson is my favorite author on the subject of the British royal family. He is informative and interesting without being too wordy and tedious. Recommended